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TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp is to buy U.S. grains merchant Gavilon for $3.6 billion excluding debt, the company said on Tuesday, confirming an earlier Reuters report. Gavilon is the third-biggest U.S. grain merchant in terms of the size of its marketing network, behind Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill, and also has large energy and fertilizer trading assets. Marubeni, Japan's fifth-largest trading company, had been in advanced talks to buy Gavilon since early May. People familiar with the matter told Reuters previously that Marubeni had offered to pay around $5.

Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy US grain giant Gavilon LLC for about $3.6 billion in the largest cross-border move by a Japanese company this year.By acquiring the US firm, Marubeni "will achieve a total dealing amount of more than 55 million tonnes worldwide and further strengthen its competitiveness of grain trade," it said in a statement.

(Reuters) - A consolidation is underway in global grain trading as the major players position themselves for an expected surge in demand for food commodities, particularly in Asia. The following are some of the key moves during the last couple of years: OCTOBER 2012 - Archer Daniels Midland bids $2.8 billion for Australia's GrainCorp in a deal that could give it a platform to supply Asia. MAY 2012 - Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. agreed to buy U.S. grain merchant Gavilon for $5.6 billion including about $2 billion in debt. ...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Marubeni Corp, Japan's fifth-biggest trading house, said on Tuesday it would buy 100 percent of U.S. grain merchant Gavilon Holdings LLC for $3.6 billion. Gavilon is the third-biggest U.S. grain merchant in terms of the size of its marketing network, behind Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill, and also has large energy and fertilizer trading assets. Owners of Gavilon include hedge fund manager Dwight Anderson and billionaire investor George Soros. (Reporting by Yuko Inoue; Editing by Michael Watson)